New Years Confession
by tojo1973
Summary: Vista Pointe. Jason and Elizabeth both confess.


Elizabeth sat down on the bench and looked out at the lights of the town. She hadn't been up there in a long time. There had been too many memories attached to this place. Now, all she wanted to do was hold on to those memories, like a lifeline.

Her hand slid over her stomach, rubbing softly and smiled.

"He doesn't remember, baby. What do I do? Do I continue lying to everyone? I can't lie to him. I never could. He could always tell. Why can't he tell now? I thought it was better this way." Her tears started spilling down her cheeks. "Why can't he remember?"

"I remember, Elizabeth."

She spun around at his voice. Her breathe caught in her throat at the site of him. Her mouth hung open, unable to form words. After a few moments, she blinked and looked away, wringing her hands together nervously.

"Jason, I didn't hear you. I normally hear you. You know, it's not good sneaking up on a pregnant woman-"

She stopped talking when she felt his hand on her shoulder. She closed her eyes, willing her nerves to settle. It was time. She turned her head and looked up into his eyes.

He looked down at her tenderly. His hand slid down from her shoulder, down her arm to her hand, and grabbed it. He pulled her softly toward the bench and sat her back down. He sat next to her, turning to face her. He took both hands in his and looked at her. He swallowed a lump in his throat before he started speaking.

"I remember what you said to me in the church. I'm…I'm the father."

Tears spilled down Elizabeth's cheek as she nodded. She choked back a sob.

Jason's eyes glistened with unshed tears.

"Why…why didn't you tell me?"

"I thought…I thought it was better this way. Everyone kept telling me that you love Sam, and was trying again, and a baby with me would only complicate things. I didn't want to do that to you; all I ever wanted for you was to be happy." She pulled her hands from his and stood up, walking toward the stairs, her arms sliding across her stomach. "Sonny and Carly both assumed that the baby was Lucky's. Carly's assumption came from the fact that I was still working, and I didn't go running to you to provide for me and the baby. I didn't correct that assumption. I wanted to talk to you first. Carly, however, beat me to it. When you said that you knew already, and it was for the best, I guess I figured they were all right. You didn't need this burden."

Jason walked over to her as she talked, his hands in his pockets. Listening to her, he recalled how he blurted out that he knew the baby was Lucky's before she could say a word. He dropped his head and shook it softly. How stupid can he be? Why couldn't he just let her tell him?

Elizabeth was biting furiously on her bottom lip, her tears streaming down her face. "And Lucky, well he was fighting to get clean for this baby. How, how could I take that away from him? He was in such a bad place. I didn't want to be the reason he relapsed. So I didn't correct anyone. I let everyone go on believe that Lucky was the father. It just seemed that it was what everyone wanted."

"What about you?"

She shrugged. "I guess it didn't matter what I wanted. It was better for everyone concerned."

"Not for me."

She turned and faced him.

"How can you say that, Jason? You were just starting over with Sam. This baby would've been just another of many obstacles you were already trying to get over. I know you love Sam. I want you to be happy. You deserve to be happy. If that is with Sam, then fine. I didn't want me or the baby to be an obstacle to your happiness."

Jason looked into her eyes and saw the truth of her words in them. She honestly did this for the sake of his happiness.

He took a deep breath before asking, "So then why did you tell me when I was hurt?"

She shrugged softly. "When I heard that you could've been hurt in an ambush, something happened. I saw you on the ground, hurt and bleeding, and I thought I was losing you. I had to tell you. I had to get you to realize you needed to fight. I couldn't hold it in."

She turned and walked away from him a bit as she continued.

"Then when you woke up, you didn't remember. You kept talking about getting to Sam, and clearing her name. I guess it just reaffirmed my decision to keep quiet. You seemed relieved that this baby wasn't yours. I couldn't take that away from you."

"That's the thing, Elizabeth. I wasn't relieved."

She turned to look at him, her eyes burrowed in confusion.

"When you came to me that day, I told you it was for the best that Lucky was the father because I thought it was what you wanted. "

She shook her head and snorted.

"I was relieved. Before I read the results, I thought that I would be happy if Lucky was the father. It would mean that we were meant to work things out. When I read the results, Jason, I felt this calmness, like everything was how it was supposed to be. I was supposed to be having your child."

His eyes grew wide as she spoke. He shook himself out of his small trance.

"I saw this look of relief on your face, and I thought it just confirmed that the baby was Lucky's and you were happy about it."

She shook her head. "No. I was relieved because this baby is yours."

He walked toward her slowly, stopping a mere inch in front of her. His hand moved up, his fingers sliding a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

"I didn't know I would be as disappointed as I was when Carly told me the results, or what she thought they were. I felt this void, like something was missing. " His hands moved to cup her cheeks, his eyes locked intently with hers. "I want this baby, Elizabeth. I want our baby. I'm so glad that it's mine."

Her body shook from the sobs escaping her. She closed her eyes as her hands came up wrapping around him. She laid her head on his chest as he slid his arms around her shoulders, holding her to him tightly. They stayed there, just holding each other, both enjoying the knowledge that they were going to be parents together, and both were happy about it.

After a few moments, both of them moved apart. He took her hand again and led her back to the bench. They both sat back in silence, letting everything sink in.

A few minutes later, Jason spoke again.

"We need to tell everyone the truth."

Elizabeth nodded and looked at him. "I already spoke to Lucky. He wasn't in such great shape when I left him. I'm worried that he'll relapse. I just couldn't keep letting him hold on to this baby. It wasn't fair."

"Why did you come up here?"

"I needed a place to think, and I figured this was the perfect place for that. This was the place we used to go when we went nowhere. This place is full of our memories. I guess I thought it would help me figure out how to tell you."

Jason softly smiled. He had the same feeling about this place as she did. This was their place, as much as the studio or Jakes was.

"I told Sam. She's pretty upset. She told me that she couldn't be with me while I was starting a family with someone else."

"Oh, Jason, I'm so sorry. I didn't want that to happen."

"I know. Maybe it wasn't supposed to work out with us. I love her, and I think a part of me always will. But we just seem to be trying too hard. I don't think it should be that hard."

Elizabeth drew in a long breath, and exhaled slowly. "She must really hate me now."

"She'll get over it, eventually."

A few minutes passed in comfortable silence. Elizabeth turned her head and looked at Jason, nibbling nervously on her lip again.

"I have an appointment next week. They are supposed to do an ultrasound. I'm supposed to find out what I'm having. Would you like to come with me?"

Jason smiled. It was not the normal small smirk of Jason Morgan. It was a full-on, mouth full of teeth smile, with eyes twinkling.

"I'll be there."

She smiled back at him. "You always are."

They sat back on the bench, watching the snow fall. He slid his arm around her shoulder, his hand slowly moving up and down her arm.

"Happy New Year Elizabeth," he whispered softly in her ear.

She turned her head, her lips close to his.

"Happy New Year Jason."

The distance between them closed, and they shared their first kiss of the New Year. A year filled with promise, from the looks of things.


End file.
